Murder in a Small Town

 

Murder In a Small Town

 

Chapter II

After Joe was expelled from Catholic School, his family put him in public school.  He continued to have problems because he was always getting into trouble, which included  minor things like pranks on fellow students.  These at first seemed harmless enough, but were escalating to more serious offenses, such as putting a mouse in a teacher’s desk drawer, which scared the teacher to death.  Next he got into a fight with another student and when called into the Principal’s office, he mouthed off to the principal.   It was obvious he was escalating in his trouble making.

Although the public school was a lot more lenient than the Catholic school had been, he managed to graduate by the skin of his teeth.  Before he graduated however, he managed to get his girlfriend pregnant.  The girl and her parents were not happy, to say the least. So a  hasty marriage was arranged by both his and her parents, with only the immediate families attending.  This happened only a few months after both Joe and Janet had graduated from high school.

They moved in with his parents for the time being and with his father’s help, Joe landed a job working with his father in an auto mechanic shop as a trainee.  They planned on finding an apartment of their own as soon as possible, with the parents help of course..

After being married a few months, Janet had a miscarriage.  There were mixed feelings about this among the family members.  Joe was not happy because the pregnancy was a big reason he felt he had to get married and now here he was stuck with a wife and barely eighteen years old.  Both of their parents were confused but felt it was too late to do anything about it.

The young couple went on to find an apartment and not long after, Joe started his new job with his father.  It was six months since they married and Janet was getting restless staying home alone while Joe was off at work and she started nagging him about maybe getting a job herself.

“What do you think of the idea”?  she asked Joe when he walked in the door from work.

“What idea”?  he said.

“Of me getting a job, instead of lounging around here all day in this tiny apartment”?

“A wife is supposed to stay home and let her husband support her.  Besides, you have not recovered from the miscarriage”.  Joe said.

“I am fine and it has been a few months”.

“Well, I do not like the idea of you going to work, makes me feel like I am not doing my duty as a husband”.

Janet was not prepared for this attitude from Joe.  He was acting like an old man instead of the teenager he was.  So she decided to drop the idea for now.  No use getting into an argument over it.  But she knew she would get her way soon enough.

 

To be continued.